Housewife fakes own kidnap so husband's family can pay N5m ransom to help husband start a business

Mrs Yemi Samuel

The Police Command in Kwara on Tuesday said it had arrested a housewife, Mrs Yemi Samuel, who allegedly arranged her kidnap in order to collect N5 million ransom from her husband’s family.

The Commissioner of Police in the state , Kayode Egbetokun, made the disclosure while addressing newsmen in Ilorin.

Egbetokun said Mrs Samuel left home on June 15 and went into hiding, claiming she was kidnapped by an unknown gang while cleaning the compound.

He said that the housewife who was the only one speaking to the husband’s family on phone, claimed the kidnappers were not willing to talk to anyone due to fear of their voice being recognised.

He said the woman called her husband that she had been taken to unknown destination and demanded N5 million ransom for her release.

The police commissioner said that effort was intensified and the said amount was provided by her husband’s family and well-wishers.

He said that unknowing to the woman that the money had been provided, she later called the husband’s family and said the ransom had been reduce to N1 million.

Egbetokun said further that the family reported the case to the police and a team of operatives tracked the suspect’s phone calls to Kulende area where she hid herself in her parent’s rented apartment.

Mrs Samuel told newsmen that she faked her kidnap to help her husband out of his financial problems.

“I planned my kidnap to collect N5 million ransom from my husband’s family to help my husband. My husband’s family are rich, but they are not willing to help him out of his financial difficulties,” she said.